We are all from "somewhere"

Indigenous people trace ancestry back through time immemorial to places of origin; places where they are rooted; and places that brought forth a unique culture, language, spiritual framework and environment.

Since 2004, Planet IndigenUS, in partnership with Brantford, Ontario's Woodland Cultural Centre, has explored such ancestry and cultures through Indigenous artists. Through a 10-day, international, multidisciplinary arts festivals attended by over 700,000 people – the largest and first Indigenous festival of its kind in 2004, repeated in 2009 and 2012 – Planet IndigenUS has raised public awareness, broken stereotypes and fostered a cross-cultural dialogue between Canadians.

Planet IndigenUS gives prominence to the voices, stories and cultures of Indigenous people that are largely absent from the Canadian narrative, and has since evolved from its original festival format to encompass education, outreach, youth projects, commissions, professional development for artists and their communities and internships throughout Ontario and Canada.

What began as a festival has grown to become the Planet IndigenUS Initiative with year round programming and resource building between festivals. Highlights of the Planet IndigenUS Initiative can be found on this page.

This event has been ﬁnancially assisted by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund of the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, administered by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund Corporation.